About Joy
Joy Livingston, PhD has more than 30 years of experience designing and conducting qualitative and quantitative research to inform a range of public service program and policy decisions. Beginning her career as an undergraduate at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), she then earned her Ph.D. at the University of Vermont. After 10 years in higher education, in 1992 Joy founded Flint Springs Associates to offer research services to public and non-profit human service organizations.
Joy is deeply committed to data informed decision making in the service of making lives better. This leads her to translate sophisticated statistical tests into clear, accessible, and useful information for a wide range of stakeholders. Clients have included organizations providing services and advocacy to a range of marginalized individuals, including elders, persons with disabilities, women survivors of violence, and corrections involved individuals, among others.
Key to her work, Joy helps clients first determine what they need to know and then how best to gather and use information. This process:
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Brings all those involved with services and service systems into the research process.
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Bridges differences in order to build consensus among a range of stakeholders, including policymakers, service providers, advocates and service recipients.
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Develops practical, cost-effective and meaningful ways for clients to measure progress toward desired outcomes.
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Provides all stakeholders with clear and concise information for decision-making.
Passionate about social and economic justice, Joy is grateful for work that allows her to support efforts to make the world a better place. Joy spends her free time with friends and family, outdoor activities, and camping throughout the US and Canada. She feels blessed to live in a welcoming community surrounded by Vermont’s beauty.
